


Summer Camp Romance

by abcsupercorp



Series: AU  stories [14]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Angst, Bisexual Hope Mikaelson, F/F, Fluff, Good Kai Parker, Hafael Friendship, Hizzie - Freeform, Hosie, Klaus and Hayley are ALIVE, Pansexual Josie Saltzman, Soft Hope Mikaelson, alaric saltzman is dead, anti handon, fuck alaric saltzman, hafael - Freeform, hizzie friendship, hope is a bisexual disaster, hope is a blushing mess, how legacies should go, jo and caroline raise the twins together, julie plec take notes, lesbian lizzie saltzman, lizzie and josie have a sister, so is stefan salvatore, their last name is parker, this has some landon bashing sorry not sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:41:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29148375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abcsupercorp/pseuds/abcsupercorp
Summary: Hope drags Lizzie to Summer camp, but when Lizzie asks to bring Josie along, Hope realizes she just dug a hole for herself. Now, Hope has to figure out how to survive 8 (or more) weeks with the girl she's been crushing on since she was nine.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson & Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson & Rafael Waithe, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Series: AU  stories [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1488320
Comments: 17
Kudos: 93





	1. Camp Invites.

"Absolutely not."

"Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Summer camp? _Seriously_?" 

"We did it once before." 

"Yeah, when we were like 12."

Hope rolls her eyes. Staring at the blonde who sat across from her at the lunch table. 

"Lizzie, it's the last day of junior year. We're seniors next year and after that, we're going to be moving to college." Hope argues. 

"What makes you think we're going to go to separate colleges?" Lizzie inquires as she raises a brow.

"Lizzie, _seriously_? We both know we're going to totally different colleges." Hope says. 

"Ugh." Lizzie says, "Fine. I'll go to summer camp with you."

"Yes!" Hope cheers.

"But under one condition; I have one thing to ask of you." Lizzie says.

"And what's that?" Hope asks as she takes a sip of her water.

" _I_ get to bring my sister along." Lizzie says as she smirks. 

Hope sputters out the water. "Wh-What?" 

"You know, my _sister_? The one you've been crushing on since we were like 9." Lizzie says. 

"Okay, one, I don't have a crush on Josie. Two, why are you bringing her along?" Hope asks.

"I never said _which_ sister, did I?" Lizzie says. "Who said anything about Josie? I _could_ be talking about Allie." 

"Well, I-" Hope doesn't have the proper words to speak. "I just assumed you meant your twin." 

"And why is it that _Josie_ , was the _first_ name to pop into your mind when I mentioned my sister?" Lizzie asks.

"Well, you see-" Hope was at a loss for words. "So, yes, you can bring your sister." She says, trying to change the subject.

"No, no." Lizzie says, "Don't try to change the subject here, Mikaelson. I'm onto you." 

"Onto what?" Hope asks as she tries to play it cool.

"Admit it. Admit that you like my sister." Lizzie says.

"For the last time, Lizzie. I _don't_ have a crush on Josie."

"Who said anything about Josie?" 

"Ugh!" Hope groans as she throws her arms up in frustration. "You are _ridiculous_." 

"And you love me for it." Lizzie smirks as she takes another sip of her Pepsi.

"Right now? No, I do not." Hope says as she glares at her best friend. 

"Ouch." Lizzie says as she pouts. 

Hope rolls her eyes. "Why is it you think I like your sister?"

"Hope, I've known you since we were 5 and we're 17. I think I have a pretty good idea of whether or not you're into my sister or not." Lizzie tells her. 

"Well, I'm just saying. I think it's pretty silly that you think I like Josie." Hope says.

"What about me?" Says a voice. 

Hope startles and turns her head. "Josie!" She says. "Hi." 

"Hi." Josie smiles. She sets a tray down next to Hope. "Were you guys talking about me?" She asks as she sits down next to Hope. 

"No" "Yes"

Hope kicks Lizzie's leg from under the table.

"Hope was just talking about us going to Summer camp and said that I could bring you along." Lizzie explains.

"Oh!" Josie says. "I'd love to come." 

"And you can bring Allie too." Hope blurts out. "So you know, it can be us four. You know. Lizzie Parker, Josie Parker and Allie Parker and Hope Mikaelson." She says awkwardly. 

"Okay." Lizzie smirks. "What about cabins, though?"

"What about them?" Hope asks.

"I mean, Allie, Josie & I usually stay in a cabin together. But this summer camp only allows two per cabin" Lizzie says. 

"Oh-" Hope says. 

"Well, Lizzie. You can bunk with Allie and I can just bunk with Hope." Josie says.

Hope's eyes widen and Lizzie smirks at her best friend mischievously. " _I_ think that is an _excellent_ idea, Jo." Lizzie says.

"Hope." Josie says as she looks at her friend, "What do you say? Cabin mates?" 

"Uhm…" Hope was at a loss for words. It didn't help that her cheeks were turning red. "Sure." she squeaks out. 

Josie beams. "Great!" she says. 

Hope sends Lizzie a glare, but Lizzie was just wiggling her eyebrows. 

A few minutes pass by and a girl with blue eyes and brown hair rushes over to the table.

"Sorry I'm late." The girl says. "Mr. Martin wanted my help with papers."

"It's okay, Allie." Josie says. "Lizzie and Hope invited us to go summer camp with them."

"Summer camp, huh?" Allie asks as she sits next to Lizzie. "I'm in." 

"Oh, yeah." Lizzie says. "Allie, you and I will be cabin mates. While Josie and Hope will be in their own cabin." 

Allie, being the smart girl she is, caught on to Lizzie's plan. She looked at Hope, and then looked at Josie. "I think that's an excellent idea." 

"Well will you look at the time!" Hope says as she pretends to check her watch that isn't on her wrist. "I better go. I totally forgot! I am supposed to meet up with Sam!"

"Sam's home sick." Lizzie says.

"Oh, right. I meant Lauren." Hope says.

"Lauren's in class." Says Allie.

"Right. I meant Mia and Emma." Hope says.

"Mia and Emma are out of town." Josie tells Hope. 

Hope has run out of luck. She's stuck. She's with two sisters who know about her crush on their sister and their sister who happens to be Hope's crush, is sitting _right_ next to her. 

"I meant I have to meet up with Rafael and Landon." Hope says.

Lizzie and Allie raise a brow. "Why do you have to meet up with your ex boyfriend and his brother?" Allie asks.

"I-I um." Hope stammers out. "I just.. Rafael is like my best friend. Doesn't mean I can't meet up with him."

" _Right_.." Lizzie says, "Well, run along then. If you must."

"Thanks." Hope says. She gets up from the table and looks at the Parker sisters. "Bye!" she says as she runs off. 

"Was she acting weird?" Josie asks.

Allie stifles a laugh while Lizzie acts like she doesn't have a clue as to what Josie's talking about. "Nope." Lizzie says, popping the 'p'. "That's just typical Hope for you." 

"Oh, right." Josie says. 

"Why?" Lizzie asks. "Do you like her?" 

"What?" Josie asks. "No, why?"

"No reason." Lizzie replies. "Are you going to eat your fries?" 

Josie hands Lizzie her plate of fries. Which Lizzie gladly takes.


	2. Oblivious & Obvious.

Hope dashes out of the lunch room and slams right into someone. She falls onto the ground. 

"Oh!" Says a voice. "Sorry, Hope. I didn't see you."

"It-It's okay." Hope says as she stands up. "It's my fault, I was the one running."

"Yeah, about that." The person says. "Why were you running out of the lunchroom so fast?" 

"No reason." Hope lies. "How about you, Sara, how are you?" 

"I'm fine." Sara replies. "I miss Sam, though. She rarely gets sick. I'm kind of worried." 

"I'm sure Sam's fine. She probably just came down with a bug." Hope says. "Have you seen Rafael?" 

"Your ex boyfriend's brother?" Sara asks.

"Look, just because Landon and I broke up, doesn't mean I can't hang out with Raf." Hope says defensively. 

Sara laughs. "Okay, calm down." she says. "Yes, I saw him. He's in the gym playing basketball. Landon isn't with him." 

  
"Okay, good, thanks." Hope says. She's about to run off but Sara grabs her by the wrist. "Sara?"

"Your face." Sara says.

"What about my face?" Hope asks. 

"It's all red." Sara says. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Hope asks. "Yes, Yes. I'm fine." 

"Hmm…" Sara hums. "This doesn't have anything to do with your crush on Lizzie's sister, does it?"

"Why does everyone think I have a crush on Josie?" Hope asks, "I don't have a crush on Josie."

Sara raises a brow, "Well, I mean, I never said anything about Josie." 

Hope's eyes went wide, again, "Oh, right."

"Huh." Sara says, "Sammy was right."

"Sammy was right about what?" Hope asks.

"You are a _terrible_ liar." Sara laughs. "Hope, everyone knows you like Josie."

"What!?" Hope asks, "No, I don't."

"Yeah, right." Sara says as she rolls her eyes. "Do you think we're idiots, Hope?" 

"No." Hope replies. "I just think you guys are crazy."

"Like how you're crazy about Josie?" Sara asks.

"What!?" Hope asks. 

Sara laughs. "Hope, calm down." she says. "I won't tell Josie."

"Tell Josie what?" Hope asks. "Tell Josie about the crush I have on her that doesn't exist?" 

"Okay, fine." Sara says, pretending to believe Hope. "You don't like Josie." 

"Thank you." Hope says. 

"You just have to convince _everyone else_ that you don't like Josie," Sara says. 

"Who else is everyone?" Hope asks.

"Well, there's Sam, Megan, Taylor, Mia, Emma, Lizzie, Allie, Rafael, Jason, Luke, Brian, Devon, Henry, Georgia, Rachel, Anna-" Sara's cut off.

"So, basically our entire friend group. Is that what you're saying?" Hope asks. 

"Yes, basically, though you rudely cut me off before I could finish ." Sara replies. "Anna _especially_ thinks you like Josie.

"Anna thinks she knows who everyone likes, Sara." Hope says.

"And yet, she's never wrong, is she?" Sara asks. 

"She's wrong this time." Hope replies.

"What am I wrong about?" Says a voice.

Hope startles and spins around. "Jesus, Anna. You don't just pop up behind people like that!" she says. 

Anna laughs. "Sorry." She says. "What am I wrong about, though?" she asks as she raises a brow. 

"Oh," Sara says. "She doesn't like Josie." 

Anna bites on her lip to prevent a smile, but she doesn't say anything, "Oh, right." she says after a few seconds. "Of course you don't."

"Wait, you don't think I like her?" Hope asks.

"No." Anna says as she shakes her head. "If you say you don't like her, then you don't like her." 

Hope crosses her arms, "How is it I don't believe a word you're saying?"

Anna laughs. "I don't know, Hope." she says. "Would I ever lie to you?" 

"No, I suppose not." Hope replies. 

"There you have it." Anna says. "I don't think you like Josie. If you say you don't, then I believe you." 

"Good." Hope says.

"Because you're _in love_ with Josie." Anna adds.

"Wait what?!" Hope exclaims.

Anna & Sara bust out laughing as Hope glares at them. She ignores the fact she can feel her cheeks turning a bright pink. 

"I'm just kidding." Anna says. "Weren't you looking for Raf?" 

"Yeah. Bye." Hope says, then she runs off. 

Anna looks at Sara, "She likes Josie so much." Anna says.

"Oh," Sara replies. "I know." 

Hope runs into the gym and sees Rafael shooting some hoops. He stops when he spots Hope.

"Oh.Hey, Hope." Rafael says. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Hope says. Rafael gives her a look. "Okay, the Parker sisters were being intimidating again." 

"This about your crush on Jo?" Rafael asks as he laughs. 

"Look, you're the _only_ one who knows about that. Please don't say anything. I get nervous around Josie as it is and I don't need any of our friends making it worse." Hope begs. 

Rafael smiles. "Relax, Hope. I won't sell you out. You're my best friend, would I ever hurt you?" 

"No." Hope says. "But you're my best friend, so I'm bound to get teased by you."

"Only a little." Rafael says as he makes his fingers almost look like they're pinching something. "Were Sara and Anna giving you a hard time?"

"How did you know?" Hope asks.

"Cause you're blushing." Rafael points out. 

"Ah shit." Hope groans. "Do you think they could tell?"

"Hope, Sara and Anna know _everything_." Rafael points out. 

"I swear, you become friends with a group of people for more than 10 years and they know you so well." Hope says. 

"So why'd you run off?" Rafael asked. 

"I had to run before I embarrassed myself in front of Josie." Hope says. 

"But, you _always_ embarrass yourself around Josie, Hope." Rafael replies. "Like, there's never not a second you don't embarrass yourself when you're around her." 

Hope groans, "Not helping." She says. "But yes, you're right. I do always embarrass myself around her. It's just that my crush on her is so big, that I get so fucking nervous around her, which causes me to be a huge mess, a total babbaling idiot, which causes me to totally embarrass myself." She says. "But on a scale of one to ten, how obvious do you think my crush on her is?" 

"Well, for one, when someone mentions Josie, you get all shy and flustered, and your face turns red, and when you're around her, you get all shy, flustered and awkward. Your face starts to turn _more_ red and you end up completely embarrassing yourself." Rafael says. " _And_ you start squeaking." He says. "So I'd say it's way past ten." 

"I do _not_ squeak!" Hope argues. "Do I?" 

Rafael laughs. "Yes, you do." He says. "It's okay, Hope. Nothing to be embarrassed about." 

"If I squeak around Josie, then there's _definitely_ something to be embarrassed about!" Hope argues. "How bad is it?" 

"It's kind of like an _'eek_!' sound." Rafael replies. "It happens a lot. Like when you're startled by Josie or you're caught off by her. Oh, and if she touches you by surprise." 

"Oh God." Hope says as her eyes went wide. "I do that?!" 

"Yeah." Rafael says. "Sorry, Hope, but you do." 

"God." Hope groans. "That's so _fucking_ embarrassing!" 

Rafael laughs. "I'm sure it's fine." He says. 

Just then, the bell rings. That's the sign that school's over. Now, it's summer time. 

"Whoo!" Rafael cheers. "Summer time!" 

"Wait!" Hope says. "Rafael, I have to share a cabin with Josie!" 

Rafael erupts out in laughter. "What? What the hell are you talking about?" 

"I asked Lizzie to come to summer camp with me before our senior year. Lizzie agreed under one condition, and that's that she gets to bring her sister along.." says Hope. "I caved and agreed, and when Josie sat by me, I panicked, as usual. Then that's when I suggested Allie come with." She explains. "It turns out that the summer camp we're going to has a rule, and that's that each cabin only has two people per cabin. Lizzie pointed that part out. Then, _Josie_ suggested Allie and Lizzie share a cabin and her and I share another!" 

"Well, what'd you say?" Rafael asks.

"I said yes!" Hope exclaims. 


	3. First Heart Aches

_The crush started out when Hope was 9. She didn't know how it came about, but it started around the time that Josie started to be really, really nice to her. Josie was always nice. Even when she met Hope when they were 5. But the crush really started when Hope noticed how cute, Josie really was. With her brown eyes and brown hair, she (Hope) thought that Josie was the cutest girl in their whole school. And for a while, Hope would just daydream about Josie. Even in the middle of class._

_"Miss. Mikaelson." said a voice. "Are you paying attention?"_

_Hope looked up and saw her teacher, Mr. O'hare, looking at her._

_"Yes, Mr. O'hare." Hope lied._

_"Excellent, well would you mind answering the question that's on the board?" He asked._

_Hope looked up on the board and it's a multiplication question._

_6 x 5_

_"The answer is 30." Hope replied_

_"Excellent job, Miss. Mikaelson." Mr. O'hare said._

_Josie, who was Hope's seat mate, looked at Hope, smiled and sent her a thumbs up._

_Hope, who blushed and panicked slightly (okay, so she panicked a lot, actually) , awkwardly sent a thumbs up back at Josie._

_After school, Hope met up with Lizzie as usual._

_"So, are you sleeping over at my house tonight?" Lizzie asked._

_"Um, I don't know. Will Josie be there?" Hope asked. That was a question she regretted asking almost immediately._

_Lizzie looked at Hope funny. "Um, yes? She's my sister, silly, of course she'd be at my house."_

_Hope blushed again, a little embarrassed by the stupid question she asked based on pure panic. "Right, I knew that." She said. "Does Josie ever talk about me?"_

_"No, not really." Lizzie replied. "Only when I bring you up, honestly."_

_"Oh okay. What does she say?" Hope asked._

_"She just says nice things about you. She said today you got an answer right on the board and how she was happy for you." Lizzie said. "Why are you suddenly so interested in my sister?"_

_"What? I'm just asking." Hope lied._

_"I've known you since we were 5, Hope, and you're an awful liar. So, tell me, please. Why are you so interested in my sister? Do you like her, or something?" Lizzie asked._

_"What? What do you mean by 'do you like her?' " Hope asked._

_Lizzie rolled her eyes, "Leave it to Hope Andrea Mikaelson who's as awkward as a duck when it comes to her first crush."_

_"What?!" Hope asked. "I don't have my first crush yet." She argued._

_"Right, okay." The blonde Saltzman twin said. "Well, word on the street is, Josie has hers."_

_"What?" Hope asked as her heart deflated. "Who?"_

_"That's what I'm trying to figure out. You'd think she'd tell her own twin about who her crush is." Lizzie said as she pouted._

_"Maybe she's too shy to tell you who it is." Hope said. "Josie's rather quiet."_

_"Hm." Lizzie hummed. "I suppose you're right."_

_On cue, Josie walked over to them._

_"Hey, guys!" Josie said as she smiled._

_"Hey, Jo." Lizzie replied._

_"Hi Hope." Josie said as she looked at the auburn haired girl._

_"I-I um-" Hope was at a loss for words, as per usual. "Hey, Hi, Josie." She squeaked out._

_"Are you sleeping over at our house tonight?" Josie asked. "Lizzie said you might."_

_"I don't know…" Hope replied. "Will you be there?" She asked. She internally slapped herself for asking that. Of course Josie would be in her own house._

_Josie giggled. "Yeah, silly. I'd be there. It's my house too."_

_Hope felt her face heat up again. What was it with her and panicking around Josie? She'd never done this before. "Right." She said to Josie. "Um, sorry."_

_"It's okay." Josie said. "Well, I hope you come over. You're nice, and great company."_

_Hope blushed again. "Thank you." She said shyly._

_"You're welcome." Josie said._

_"Um, yeah, I'll stay over tonight. I asked my mom last night and she said yes if I wanted to." Hope said._

_"Yes!" Lizzie said._

_"Yay!" Josie said as she pulled Hope into a hug._

_Hope panicked and hugged Josie back, she ignored the fact that her heart was loudly pounding in her chest. What was happening to her?_

_Josie pulled back and smiled at Hope. "My friends Emily and Rachel are coming over too." She said. "Lizzie, is anyone else coming over?"_

_"Not that I know of." Lizzie replied. "Come on. Mom's here."_

_Josie grabbed Hope's hand and dragged her off._

_"Hey!" Lizzie said as she chased after Josie and Hope. "She's my best friend!"_

_Hope, Lizzie and Josie entered Jo Parker's car. Josie was named after her mother, so she'd be Josette Parker the second._

_"Hi girls." Jo said when the three of them entered. "How was school?"_

_"It was good, mom." Lizzie and Josie said in sync._

_"How about you, Hope?" Jo asked._

_"It was good, Miss. Parker." Hope replied._

_"That's good." Jo replied. "Josie, are Emily and Rachel coming over or do we need to pick them up?"_

_"Rachel's mom is going to take Emily with them here." Josie replied._

_"Okay, sounds good." Jo replied._

_The rest of the ride home was in silence._

_Eventually, they pulled up to the Parker-Forbes resident. Where the twin's surrogate mother, Caroline, lives with them._

_The twins and Hope stepped out of the car and went inside with Jo behind them._

_"Mother!" Josie called. "We're home."_

_Caroline came out of the kitchen to greet her daughters and their friend. "Hey girls." She said. The twins ran over and hugged her while Hope smiled and waved. "Hello, Hope." Caroline said once she pulled back from the twins._

_"Hi Miss. Forbes." Hope said. "How are you?"_

_"Oh, I'm well, thank you." Caroline said. "I'm just glad I can help Jo raise the twins. After Alaric died, we agreed on raising them together."_

_"That's nice of you. It must be fun having two moms." Hope said as she looked at the twins._

_"It is." Josie said._

_"Hi Jo." Caroline said as she saw the twins other mom._

_"Hey, Caroline. Hope & a few of Josie's friends are sleeping over." Jo told Caroline. _ _"I hate to trouble you, but could you order a couple of pizzas for them tonight? The office has me booked all night."_

_"Oh, Jo." Caroline said. "Not a problem. It's okay. You don't need to ask me to do anything. I'd gladly do anything for you." She said. "They're my girls too."_

_"Thank you so much." Jo said. "Girls, Hope. I'm sorry, I have to run."_

_"It's okay, mom." Lizzie said. "You need to go to work."_

_"Thanks, baby." Jo said. She grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. "Bye girls, Bye Hope."_

_"Bye,Mom." Lizzie said._

_"Bye,Mom." Josie said._

_"Bye, Miss. Parker." Hope said._

_"Come on, let's go to our room." Josie said as she grabbed Hope's hand and dragged her up the stairs._

_"Hey!" Lizzie said again. "Like I said earlier, she's my best friend!" She called as she followed Hope and Josie up the stairs._

_Caroline chuckled. "Kids and their first crushes. How sweet." She said to herself._

_Hope, Lizzie and Josie sat around in the twins room. They were playing a board game while they waited for Rachel and Emily to come over._

_A few hours passed and the doorbell rang._

_"Josie! Lizzie! Rachel and Emily are here!" Caroline called from downstairs._

_"I'll get it." Lizzie said as she left the room. Leaving Hope and Josie alone._

_"Are you okay, Hope?" Josie asked._

_"Huh?" Hope asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"_

_"Well, you've kind of been staring at me for a couple of hours. I was worried you spaced out, or something." Josie said._

_Hope's eyes went wide and her face turned red, she was staring? Oh God, could she be anymore obvious. "Oh-" she said. "I-I'm sorry._

_"It's okay, no need to say sorry." Josie said. "You're okay, though?"_

_"Yes." Hope replied. "I'm fine."_

_"Good!" Josie smiled. She moved over towards Hope and pulled Hope in for another hug._

_Hope panicked, again. She was never one to panic. Usually, it was Lizzie who'd panic over small things, but she was the one who was now panicking? She hugged Josie back._

_Josie pulled back. "You give nice hugs." She told Hope._

_Hope blushed again. "Th-Thanks."_

_"I was wondering if I could ask you something?" Josie asked._

_"What?" Hope asked her._

_"Um.. have you ever wondered what your first-" before Josie could say anymore, Lizzie, Emily and Rachel came upstairs._

_"Hey guys!" Rachel said. "Hey, Josie."_

_Hope noticed Josie started to blush when Rachel saw her. 'So that's who Josie's crushing on', Hope thought to herself'_

_For the rest of the time up until dinner, Rachel was flirting with Josie subtly. Hope slightly frowned. She didn't know what she was feeling, but she knew she didn't like it. Not one bit._

_"Girls! Allie!" Caroline called from downstairs. "Time for dinner!"_

_The five fourth graders stood up and headed downstairs. Josie grabbed Rachel's hand and dragged her down the stairs. Hope sighed. She wanted to hold Josie's hand again._

_"Hey." Lizzie said. "Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine." Hope replied. "Come on. It's time to eat, and you know I love pizza."_

_"Okay." Lizzie said. She threw her arm around Hope's shoulder and the two of them walked downstairs._

_During dinner, Josie and Rachel were talking and giggling. Hope felt slightly sick to her stomach. Not because she was grossed out, or anything. But because she wanted to be the one talking and giggling with Josie. What was it that Rachel had, that she didn't? Why couldn't Josie have a crush on her?_

_After dinner, the girls decided to watch a movie. They headed upstairs and into the movie room. Which was a spare room that used to be Alaric's study before he died._

_"Hey guys." Allie said as she knocked on the door. "Can I join you guys?"_

_"Sure, Allie." Lizzie said. The six of them gathered around the tv, they had blankets and everything._

_Josie and Rachel shared a blanket. Hope watched from afar. She was sharing a blanket with Lizzie. She watched as Josie and Rachel continued to giggle and talk like they shared a secret, or something._

_The movie started and Hope could barely enjoy the movie. She was just looking over at Josie and Rachel, who were still whispering into each other's ears, talking and giggling. Hope felt her stomach twist. She felt her eyes water up a little. She decided to not watch them anymore and focus on the movie. But it was hard to focus on the movie when her eyes betrayed her, and looked over at her crush and Rachel every couple of seconds._

_After the movie, it was time for bed. The girls besides Allie walked over to the twins room. Rachel and Emily had brought sleeping bags, while Hope, Lizzie and Josie stayed on the beds._

_"Hey, Josie." Rachel said. "Do you want to share a sleeping bag with me tonight?"_

_Hope watched as Josie blushed at Rachel's offer. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach when Josie nodded. Her heart broke when she watched Josie wiggle her way into Rachel's sleeping bag._

_"Come on Hope." Lizzie said. "It's time for bed. You can use Jo's bed tonight if you want to."_

_"Okay." Hope said as she fake smiled. She laid down in Josie's bed and watched as Rachel and Josie giggled with each other. Hope forced herself to look away and felt herself crying. Hope eventually cried herself to sleep._


	4. Hope?

_In the 7th grade, Josie and Rachel started going out. Hope's crush on Josie only grew more and more each year, and it didn't help that Josie was now dating Rachel. Who was also Hope's friend. Hope was envious of Josie and Rachel. She wanted to be the one who held Josie's hand. She wanted to be the one to giggle and laugh with Josie. She wanted to be the one to hug Josie and stare at each other all love sick. Hope had it bad. Really bad._

_"Hope." Lizzie said one day during lunch. "Are you okay?"_

_"Huh?" Hope said. "I'm fine.."_

_"Are you sure?" Lizzie asked._

_"Yes." Hope said. "I'm fine, I promise."_

_"Okay. Well you know that new boy? Landon?" Lizzie said._

_"Yeah, what about him?" Hope asked._

_"Emily told me that he has a crush on you." Lizzie said._

_"Oh." Hope said. "Okay."_

_"He's kind of cute, don't you think?" Lizzie asked._

_Hope turned her head to see the curly haired boy with green-grey eyes talking to another darker skinned boy, Rafael, who was Landon's brother. "Sure." Hope replied._

_"Why don't you ask him out? I'm sure he'd say yes." Lizzie said._

_"Umm…" Hope said. "I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to date yet."_

_"Pfft." Lizzie said. "Who cares? You're almost thirteen."_

_"I don't know, Lizzie. I mean Landon's cute, but he's not really my type." Hope said._

_"Alright." Lizzie shrugged. "Whatever you say."_

_Josie walked over and Hope noticed that Rachel wasn't with her. For the first time in a while, Hope was really happy to see Josie by herself. Almost any other time, Josie was with Rachel. "Hey guys." Josie said, she was grinning._

_"What are you smiling about?" Lizzie asked._

_Josie blushed and giggled a little bit. She was smiling so wide. "Rachel kissed me."_

_And that's when Hope's heart stopped._

_"What?!" Lizzie exclaimed. "No way! How was it?"_

_"It was really magical." Josie giggled. "Her lips were soft and tasted like strawberries."_

_"I'm so happy for you Josie!" Lizzie said. She looked over at Hope. "Hope, isn't that great news?"_

_"Yeah." Hope said as she fake smiled. "I'm happy for you Josie."_

_Josie smiled as she reached across the table and held Hope's hand for a second. "Thanks, Hope."_

_Hope blushed at the sudden contact. She couldn't control her blushing. It was just out of control whenever Josie was near her._

_"I-um…" Hope said, "You're welcome." She said as she pulled her hand back._

_"So. Rachel and I want to double date! Lizzie, are you going to finally ask Alec out?" Josie asked Lizzie._

_"Maybe." Lizzie replied. "I don't know if I like him though. I know he likes me."_

_"Okay." Josie said. She looked at Hope again. "How about you, Hope? Do you have a crush on anybody?"_

_'Yeah' Hope thought to herself. 'you' "um, no not really." She replied. Then she stood up and looked at the twins. "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you guys later."_

_"Are you okay?" Josie asked._

_Hope nodded. "I'm fine." She replied. Then she walked away._

_"Hey. Hope." Said a voice once Hope was out of the lunchroom._

_Hope stopped, and looked at the person. "Hi, Landon."_

_"Um.. how-how are you?" Landon asked._

_"I'm doing okay." Hope replied._

_"I-I um…" Landon was nervous, his ears turned red. "I kind of want to tell you something."_

_"What?" Hope asked._

_"I-I um… I kind of have a crush on you." Landon confessed._

_"Oh…" Hope said. "Okay, cool."_

_"And I was wondering if you wanted to hang out sometime." Landon asked._

_Hope's eyes peeked behind Landon where she saw Rachel entering the lunchroom from the other door. Then she saw Rachel sit next to Josie._

_Hope realized she had to move on. Josie had a girlfriend and she couldn't get in the way of that._

_"Hope?" Landon said._

_"Sure." Hope replied. "Maybe we can hang out at some point."_

_Landon smiled widely. "Great! Awesome!" He said. "Bye, Hope."_

_"Bye Landon." Hope replied._

_So, Hope did decide to go hang out with Landon. She enjoyed it, for the most part. He was kind to her, he made her laugh, he helped her with stuff in school she had some troubles in. It was nice. But Landon didn't give Hope the same butterflies that Josie gave her._

_Hope and Landon dated for 7 months in the 8th grade. It only lasted 7 months because Hope felt like Landon was still a bit too immature. Even though he was nice, helpful & made Hope laugh, he was still someone who acted like a child. And of course, they were technically still children. During those 7 months, Hope never even kissed Landon. She just didn't feel like she was ready to. And if she were to be honest with anyone, the only person she wanted her first kiss to be with, was Josie. _

_After Hope broke up with Landon. Her feelings for Josie came back all at once. Now, Josie and Rachel were still together and at this point, Hope thought that those two would end up being middle school sweethearts._

_Eventually, though, Rachel and Josie broke up. It was mutual, and Rachel was still very much a part of their friend group._

_And for the first time in almost a year, Hope had hope that maybe, just maybe, Josie would possibly like her back._


	5. Signs?

It's the annual summer break party at Emily's house. Every year, since 9th grade, Emily would host a small gathering with her friends to celebrate that school was over for the summer. 

"Hope." Says a voice. 

Hope startles and spins around, only to see Lizzie and Emily walking over to her. "God, do you people know how to approach a person without scaring the shit out of them?" 

Emily laughs. "Sorry, Hope." She says. "I was just gonna ask if you've seen Jesse." 

"Jesse? No, why?" Hope asks.

"I was supposed to give her something that Andrew made for her before he moved." Emily says. "By the way, what were you staring at before we came over here?"

"Staring?" Hope asks. "What makes you think I was _staring_?" 

"Um," Emily says. "Because you _were_." 

"Oh." Lizzie laughs. She leans in and whispers into Emily's ears. ' _She's staring at my sister'_

Emily's eyebrows raise as she looks back at Hope. _"Never mind_." She says as she tries to hide her smirk. 

"What? What did she tell you, Emily?" Hope asks.

"Nothing, anyways, Lizzie and I have to go. We need to find Jesse." Emily replies. "Bye now." 

Before Hope can say anymore, Josie walks over to her. "Hey." Josie says.

Hope's eyes grow wide, her cheeks turn red and she panics as usual. "Josie!" She says. Then she clears her throat. "I-I mean, Josie. Hey." 

"So, are you sure you want to share a cabin with me?" Josie asks, "I could always just share a cabin with Allie, and you can share a cabin with Lizzie, if that's what you-"

"No!" Hope says, cutting Josie off. "I-I mean, no, it's totally fine." She says. 

"Okay." Josie smiles. "Are you okay, though?" She asks.

"I'm fine." Hope replies. "Why?"

"Well, you've been staring at me for about 45 minutes, I wanted to check on you because I was worried you'd spaced out, or something." Josie says. 

Hope's eyes grew wide again & the burning of her cheeks only intensified more. God. She was staring? _Again?_ Could her crush be anymore _obvious_ ? Could she _embarrass_ herself anymore at this point? Yes to both questions. "I-I was staring at you?" She asks as her voice sort of squeaks. 

Josie giggles. "Yeah. You were." 

"Oh." Hope says. "Sor-Sorry." 

"It's okay, I don't mind." Josie says. "If I can get a cute girl like you staring at me, I can't imagine what I'd be like if it were someone else." 

Hope blushes again, this time, she's blushing furiously. "You-You think I'm cute?" She asks. 

"Very." Josie replies. "Anyways, I have to go find Anna. I'll catch you later?"

"Sure." Hope says awkwardly. 

Josie grabs Hope's hand and gives it a quick squeeze before walking away. 

Hope's mouth gapes open. _Josie thinks she's cute._ Hope quickly pushes her way through the crowd until she can find Rafael. When she spots him, she rushes over to him.

"Rafael, can I speak to you?" Hope asks.

"What's up?" Rafael asks. 

"Um.." Hope says. "The crow flies at midnight." She says. Code for _'it's about Josie.'_

"Oh!" Rafael says. "Okay. Give me one second." He says. He grabs another red cup and takes a sip. Then he follows Hope to a private corner. "What's up?"

"What does it mean when the girl you've got a massive crush on, calls you cute?" Hope asks. 

Rafael hums. "Well, I think it means she likes you." 

"You think Josie might like me?" Hope asks.

"She called you cute, didn't she?" Rafael asks.

"Well, yes." Hope replies. "But I don't know if it means anything."

"Well, you better figure it out." Rafael says as he chuckles. "Because you're going to be spending 12 weeks, in a cabin, with the girl you can barely speak to without completely embarrassing yourself." 

" _12_?!" Hope asks as her eyes grow wide. "I thought it was only 8!" 

"Nope." Rafael says. "The camp you guys along with myself and the rest of our friends lasts 12 weeks."

" _Shit_." Hope groans. "I'm not sure I can handle 12 weeks with Josie. I take one look into those beautiful, chocolate brown eyes of hers and I'm done for it." 


End file.
